Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090091390 | Programmable-gain amplifier systems to facilitate low-noise, low-distortion volume control - Programmable-gain amplifier systems are provided that are particularly suited for reducing degrading audio effects such as zipper noise. In one embodiment, these systems switchably couple an electronic potentiometer between an amplifier's inverting input terminal and interleaved tap points along a resistor that is coupled to the amplifier's output terminal. This arrangement introduces a number of fine gain steps between the gain steps that are realized with adjacent ones of the interleaved tap points to substantially reduce or eliminate zipper noise in a audio system that processes the system's output signal. The interleaved tap points facilitate efficient operation of the potentiometer during gain changes. They also permit the potentiometer to be effectively bypassed between gain changes so that distortion effects are substantially eliminated. | 04-09-2009 |
20090316916 | Wide Dynamic Range Microphone - A microphone system has an output and at least a first transducer with a first dynamic range, a second transducer with a second dynamic range different than the first dynamic range, and coupling system to selectively couple the output of one of the first transducer or the second transducer to the system output, depending on the magnitude of the input sound signal, to produce a system with a dynamic range greater than the dynamic range of either individual transducer. A method of operating a microphone system includes detecting whether a transducer output crosses a threshold, and if so then selectively coupling another transducer's output to the system output. The threshold may change as a function of which transducer is coupled to the system output. The system and methods may also combine the outputs of more than one transducer in a weighted sum during transition from one transducer output to another, as a function of time or as a function of the amplitude of the incident audio signal. Methods of operating the system may include equalizing the outputs of two or more transducers prior to coupling one or more outputs to the system output. | 12-24-2009 |
20120020502 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVING HEADPHONE SPATIAL IMPRESSION - A headphone system includes a headphone, a sensor, and a processor. The headphone may provide sound from virtual speakers to a listener via a plurality of sound paths that are filtered with a plurality of filters. The sensor may sense an angular velocity of a movement of the listener. The processor may receive the angular velocity and may calculate delays in the plurality of sound paths and filter coefficients for the plurality of filters based on the angular velocity, and insert the calculated delays in the plurality of sound paths and adjust the plurality of filters with the calculated filter coefficients. | 01-26-2012 |
20120316872 | ADAPTIVE ACTIVE NOISE CANCELING FOR HANDSET - Embodiments of the present invention provide an adaptive noise canceling system. The adaptive noise canceling system may be used in a handset to cancel background noise by generating an anti-noise signal. The adaptive noise canceling system may include first input to receive a first signal from a feedforward microphone; a second input to receive a second signal from an error microphone; a controller coupled to the inputs, the controller configured to adaptively generate an anti-noise signal according to the received signals, wherein the controller derives a profile of the anti-noise signal from the first signal and derives a magnitude of the anti-noise signal from both first and second signal; and an output to transmit the anti-noise signal to a speaker. | 12-13-2012 |
20120321100 | Wide Dynamic Range Microphone - A microphone system has an output and at least a first transducer with a first dynamic range, a second transducer with a second dynamic range different than the first dynamic range, and coupling system to selectively couple the output of one of the first transducer or the second transducer to the system output, depending on the magnitude of the input sound signal, to produce a system with a dynamic range greater than the dynamic range of either individual transducer. A method of operating a microphone system includes detecting whether a transducer output crosses a threshold, and if so then selectively coupling another transducer's output to the system output. Some embodiments combine the outputs of more than one transducer in a weighted sum during transition from one transducer output to another, as a function of time or as a function of the amplitude of the incident audio signal. | 12-20-2012 |
20130121504 | MICROPHONE ARRAY WITH DAISY-CHAIN SUMMATION - Microphone stages in a microphone array may be coupled together in a daisy chain. Each stage may include a microphone, an analog to digital converter, a decimation unit, a receiver, an adder, and a transmitter. The converter may convert analog audio microphone signals into digital codes that may be decimated. The adder may add decimated digital codes in each stage to a cumulative sum of decimated digital codes from prior stages. This new sum may be transmitted to the next microphone stage, where the adder may add the decimated digital codes from that stage to the cumulative sum. A serial interface may be used to connect the transmitters and receivers of each of the stages. The serial interface may be used to transmit the cumulative sum of decimated digital codes between the stages. The serial interface may also be used to transmit configuration data between the stages. | 05-16-2013 |
20130218512 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOW COST, HIGH ACCURACY TEMPERATURE SENSOR - The invention may provide a temperature sensor device that includes an analog temperature sensor to generate a first base-emitter voltage and a second base-emitter voltage, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to sample at the voltages and generate corresponding digital values. The temperature sensor device may also include a logic unit to calculate a digital temperature code from the digital values using a digital virtual reference. | 08-22-2013 |
20140152480 | ENHANCED SECOND ORDER NOISE SHAPED SEGMENTATION AND DYNAMIC ELEMENT MATCHING TECHNIQUE - A method and circuit to perform noise shaped splitting of a digital input signal may include using multiple layers to process the input signal. In the first layer, the most significant bits of the input signal may be distributed to a plurality of branches. Dynamic element matching may be performed using the least significant bits of the input signal. Based on the results of the dynamic element matching, values may be added to the plurality of branches. If there is insufficient data activity, dynamics enhancement may be performed to increase the data activity. The output signals of each of the plurality of branches in the first layer may be provided to a second layer, in which these steps can be repeated on each of the output signals. The outputs of the second layer may be provided to a plurality of three level unit elements. | 06-05-2014 |
20140241536 | METHOD AND DETECTOR OF LOUDSPEAKER DIAPHRAGM EXCURSION - The present invention relates in one aspect to a method of detecting diaphragm excursion of an electrodynamic loudspeaker. The method comprises steps of generating an audio signal for application to a voice coil of the electrodynamic loudspeaker and adding a high-frequency probe signal to the audio signal to generate a composite drive signal. The method further comprises a step of applying the composite drive signal to the voice coil through an output amplifier and detecting a modulation level of a probe signal current flowing through the voice coil. | 08-28-2014 |
20140257821 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROCESSOR WAKE-UP BASED ON SENSOR DATA - A system for processor wake-up based on sensor data includes an audio buffer, an envelope buffer, and a processor. The audio buffer is configured to store a first data from a sensor. The first data is generated according to a first sampling rate. The envelope buffer is configured to store a second data, which is derived from the first data according to a second sampling rate, which is less than the first sampling rate. The processor is configured to wake up periodically from an idle state and read the second data from the envelope buffer. If the second data indicates an activity, the processor is configured to read the first data from the audio buffer. If the second data does not indicate an activity, the processor is configured to return to the idle state. | 09-11-2014 |
20150028213 | System and Method For LIDAR Signal Conditioning - Various embodiments provide systems and methods that allow a LIDAR system to sense nearby objects with relatively low-cost elements, and fewer elements than traditional LIDAR systems by sampling an infrared pulse at a high sample rate and storing the samples in the analog domain. The samples may then be digitized at a rate slower than the sample rate. | 01-29-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080210059 | GRAPHITE / TITANIUM HAMMER - According to disclosure, the hammer has a head made of striking grade steel. The handle comprises a 6-4 titanium hand grip and over strike plate insert in the handle and under the head. The head has an eye for accommodating a handle which in a preferred embodiment is made of a graphite titanium composite comprising from about 60 to 65% graphite by weight and from about 35 to 45% 6-4 titanium. The head of hammer has a claw end and a striking head. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing the device of the disclosure comprising using one or more bladder compressed carbon fiber processes to anneal the graphite, titanium and steel components of the hammer. | 09-04-2008 |
20090271929 | Multi-function tool for demolition - A multi-function tool having a handle portion and a plurality of structures operable therewith for the performance of a plurality of functions. The multi-function tool allows fast and convenient transition between any of the plurality of functions in order to enable completion of jobs or tasks requiring such functions without acquisition, storage, and/or maintenance of a plurality of specialized tools. | 11-05-2009 |
20090276962 | STRIKING TOOL - A multi-function tool having a handle portion and a plurality of structures operable therewith for the performance of a plurality of functions. The multi-function tool allows fast and convenient transition between any of the plurality of functions in order to enable completion of jobs or tasks requiring such functions without acquisition, storage, and/or maintenance of a plurality of specialized tools. | 11-12-2009 |